


At the End of the World

by seadreams



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Ending: Swan Song, Episode AU: s05e22 Swan Song, Episode: s05e22 Swan Song, M/M, the death isn't graphic or anything but just in case
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-03
Updated: 2014-06-03
Packaged: 2018-02-03 06:34:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1734689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seadreams/pseuds/seadreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A variation of 5x22 Swan Song, wherein Team Free Will did not stop the Apocalypse, and Castiel was not killed by Lucifer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At the End of the World

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this I think... almost two years ago? So I was sort of new to the fandom _and_ new to fic writing, so bear with me. I re-edited it recently, added some stuff, took away some stuff - I think I've improved it.
> 
> This fic can also be found on my [Tumblr](http://novaktwins.tumblr.com/post/63819616540).
> 
> Title taken from the song _The Ghost of You_ by My Chemical Romance.

The world ended years ago. Earth is nothing more than a slab of jagged rock, still caught in its gravitational orbit around the Sun.

A permanent cloud of dust hovers over the land. The throbbing mass plays tricks on the mind, can send a poor soul off the edge of a cliff or into the depths of a crevice. Not that there is any use for sight. Why wonder where you are going when you have nowhere to go?

Dean, however, has someone to follow. He looks at Castiel, who has stopped walking and has tilted his head towards the sky which is mostly obscured by clouds and tainted with a vile sanguine. Castiel's face is impassive. Serene. Dean is grateful for his company, the angel keeping him tethered to his sanity.

_"You can leave, you know. Be with your family."_

_"You are my friend, Dean."_ And that was all he had said.

It was one of their last moments before the End. They had sat together on the hood of the Impala. Not talking, just waiting. Castiel was turned slightly in, towards Dean. The Sun was setting behind him, a breeze playing lightly with the stubborn tendrils of his hair.

He had wanted to kiss Castiel very badly towards the end.

They walk now, Dean hurrying so he does not lose him in the dust. Castiel will not wait for him, he knows. He must not let him out of his sight.

_A sudden bright light bursts from the deep recesses of the earth, cracking its surface with blinding rays which shoot out to the sky. Castiel starts to glow faintly, vibrations emanating from him shaking the Impala. Dean reaches out for him, taking his arm and squeezing, but Castiel grows hot, much too hot. Instinctively, Dean pulls away, but immediately regrets it. Castiel’s eyes fill with light._

_"Goodbye, Dean."_

He can feel their eyes on him as they walk. They envy his soul, how brightly it shines. They stare with wide, blank eyes, their mouths agape as they moan and cry. Castiel passes through them without a moment's hesitation. Dean pauses, but walks through them as well, shivering as they touch him and try to take his warmth.

Dean remembers a conversation they had, months before the End.

_"I'm not human. If Heaven is ever destroyed, or if I am killed, I will simply cease to exist."_

_"What? You don’t have a soul?"_

_"No."_

It can't be. Castiel is right here with him.

_I'm not real, Dean_ , a voice in his head says. _I'm just a fragment of your memory, one of the last._

Dean pays no heed to this. He chooses instead to watch his companion inspect a swirling mass of dust.

Castiel is like a mirage, an endless replay of the same images, serving no purpose except to remind Dean of the world lost, of the things he should not forget. The warmth of a brother's hug, a mother's soft touch against his cheek, the chastising rumble of a father's deep voice in his ear. All fond memories, barely there.

Dean doesn't want to end up like the other souls. They have no one, nothing to remind them of their humanity, of their life. They become enraged, so lost in their loneliness and despair; they lose every ounce of their compassion and become the vengeful spirits Dean used to hunt. How ironic it is then, that an 'emotionless' Angel of the Lord could provide Dean with such warmth and comfort, could help maintain Dean's mortality.

Castiel turns towards him now, his eyes stop on Dean, but not on Dean, on something Dean cannot see. Dean reaches out to touch him, but they pass through each other like smoke, Dean says his name, but he goes unheard.

Dean feels like the Earth sometimes. Caught in an endless loop around the Sun. Castiel will continue to shine brightly, even as Dean wastes away into nothing, unable to leave, unable to do anything except be guided and grounded by him.

There is a soul here now. Dean can feel it delicately flicking at his own consciousness. It vies for Dean's attention, pulling at him, dragging him away from Castiel, whispering, _I know you. Take me with you. I know you._ But Dean does not know this soul. He does not care for it.

_Leave_ , he hisses at it, and the soul flickers away.

When he turns back, Castiel is gone, dust swirling angrily in the place he last stood. Dean can feel the panic rising, threatening to lock his legs up. He feels something cold at his back, and when he turns, he finds himself faced with another soul, eyes and mouth open and hollow, moaning, pleading. Weak fingers wrap around his arms; Dean shakes them off easily, but then there are more, tens, hundreds of tendrils wrapping around him, and as Dean whisks his head around he finds that there are more souls congregated around him, watching him blankly. Behind the mass of faces, Castiel walks peacefully, his back turned, face tilted up towards the sky.

_Wait for me, Cas, wait for me._

But Castiel does not hear him, and Castiel does not wait for him.

Dean has finally been knocked out of orbit. He can feel himself start to drift out into space, into that infinite black vacuum. The Sun shrinks farther and farther away from him. Dean can feel himself fading.

He stares blankly out at the dust, hypnotised by its ebb and flow.

_Castiel's face is turned up towards the sky, away from Dean. The Sun is still shining, illuminating his outline, his ruffled hair, casting a soft halo around his head. A loud crack sounds. Castiel turns back to look at Dean. His eyes are lovely and blue, a fond look on his face. Dean is vaguely aware of the earth splitting beneath his feet. Castiel touches Dean’s hand and smiles._

 

He had wanted to kiss Castiel very badly towards the end.


End file.
